Honus Wagner card fetches $1.62 million

CHICAGO, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- A 1909 baseball card depicting early Hall-of-Famer Honus Wagner was sold for $1.62 million in Chicago, auctioneers said.

The Wagner card was part of one of the earliest series of baseball cards ever issued, coming with cigarettes made by the American Tobacco Co. Doug Allen, chief operating officer of Mastro Auctions of Burr Ridge, Ill., said the buyer was an Arkansas man, the Chicago Tribune reported Sunday.

The Wagner card sale came as part of the National Sport Collectors Convention held at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill., with the card bidding taking place at a sports bar and restaurant in downtown Chicago.

Honus Wagner was a shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates who dominated the National League in the years between 1900 and 1913, but he demanded the cigarette company withdraw his card for reasons that aren't clear, making his cards very rare, the Tribune reported.

United Press International is a leading provider of news, photos and information to millions of readers around the globe via UPI.com and its licensing services.

With a history of reliable reporting dating back to 1907, today’s UPI is a credible source for the most important stories of the day, continually updated - a one-stop site for U.S. and world news, as well as entertainment, trends, science, health and stunning photography. UPI also provides insightful reports on key topics of geopolitical importance, including energy and security.

A Spanish version of the site reaches millions of readers in Latin America and beyond.

UPI was founded in 1907 by E.W. Scripps as the United Press (UP). It became known as UPI when after a merger with the International News Service in 1958, which was founded in 1909 by William Randolph Hearst. Today, UPI is owned by News World Communications.